McKesson Health Solutions, a business unit of McKesson Corporation, today announced the launch of an Uncompensated Care Management Program.
McKesson is piloting the Uncompensated Care Management Program with Baptist Health of Montgomery, Alabama to decrease the amount of uncompensated care provided within Baptist Health’s hospitals. The pilot, branded CareAdvisor by Baptist Health, began September 15, 2008 at Baptist Medical Center South.
In the United States, hospitals delivered $34 billion in uncompensated care in 2007 according to the American Hospital Association.
McKesson’s service focuses on decreasing the amount of uncompensated care that health systems provide in the ED and inside the hospital by finding patients with chronic medical needs and working with them to receive outpatient primary care through a medical home. Outcomes include improving quality of medical care, better disease control, a reduction in overall costs, and more appropriate utilization of hospital resources.
“Through our Uncompensated Care Management Program we decrease the need for high cost, high risk uninsured patients to use the hospital for medical care. We assist these patients by helping them locate and use more appropriate healthcare resources,” said Ricardo Guggenheim, M.D., vice president, Care Management Strategy, McKesson Health Solutions
McKesson’s Uncompensated Care Management Program focuses on:
- Analyzing and identifying uncompensated care opportunities to manage;
- Reducing uncompensated losses in the emergency department and inpatient settings;
- Lowering readmission rates and improving outcomes for the recently discharged;
- Improving quality;
- Eliminating gaps in care; and
- Generating return-on-investment.
“Baptist Health provides millions in uncompensated care annually. The year over year growth of this burden is simply unsustainable. We believe the CareAdvisor pilot will not only help control and reverse the uncompensated component, but will dramatically improve the overall personal health of those patients we continue to serve,” said Russell Tyner, president and CEO, Baptist Health.
The service helps health systems decrease the amount of uncompensated care through several strategies:
Data supplied through case finding and assessment using McKesson software and triage services helps the CareAdvisor staff identify high cost, high risk patients – including those with documented chronic diseases and very high use of hospital resources within the past year – who will be actively managed.
McKesson works with the health system to establish a medical home with primary care providers. The Baptist Health CareAdvisor case managers refer patients to its Family Medicine Residency program.
CareAdvisor staff work with patients to resolve any barriers to medical care that they may have, including identifying health coverage options, pharmacy assistance programs, social services and transportation services. Patients sign a contract obligating them to uphold their responsibilities in the program, in exchange for these services.
About McKesson Corporation
McKesson Corporation, currently ranked 18th on the FORTUNE 500, is a healthcare services and healthcare information technology company dedicated to helping its customers deliver high-quality healthcare by reducing costs, streamlining processes, and improving the quality and safety of patient care. McKesson is the longest-operating company in healthcare today, marking its 175th anniversary last year. Over the course of its history, McKesson has grown by providing pharmaceutical and medical-surgical supply management across the spectrum of care; healthcare information technology for hospitals, physicians, homecare and payors; hospital and retail pharmacy automation; and services for manufacturers and payors designed to improve outcomes for patients. For more information on McKesson, visit http://www.mckesson.com .
